Sanchez, Martial on mark as Arsenal, Man Utd rise

LONDON: Alexis Sanchez brought manager Arsene Wenger some breathing space with a brace of goals as Arsenal overcame Hull City 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Chilean forward contentiously scored with his hand in the 34th minute and netted a stoppage-time penalty to get Arsenal back to winning ways following successive defeats by Watford and leaders Chelsea.

They provisionally climbed to third place, nine points behind Chelsea, while Manchester United moved to within a point of the Champions League places by beating Watford 2-0.

Anthony Martial marked his return to the starting XI by scoring one goal and setting up another for Juan Mata as Jose Mourinho’s side leapfrogged Liverpool, who host second-place Tottenham Hotspur later on Saturday.

Spurs sit above Arsenal on goal difference, with Manchester City a point back in fourth place ahead of their trip to Bournemouth on Monday.

United have now gone 16 league games unbeaten and trail City by a point, having played a game more, with Liverpool two points further back in sixth.

Following his side’s win over Hull, Wenger dismissed a claim by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright that he had admitted his time at the Emirates Stadium was coming to an end.